This invention relates to a method of manufacturing panels for forming the walls, roofs and floors of a timber-framed residence constructed by a two-by-four construction method and of setting those panels on a pallet, and to an apparatus for carrying out this method. This method enables such types of panels to be easily manufactured with high efficiency and enables completed panels to be successively set on pallets and thereafter stored or transported to a building site.
In a known process of assembling this type of building member, the operation of forming frames, application of plywood and fixture work related to the forming of doorways or windows are successively performed while the parts are being moved in one direction over a long straight horizontal working table, and the completed panels are let down from the tail end of the horizontal table and then temporarily stacked flat.
The completed panels are moved in the horizontally stacked state to a separate place for storage or are transported directly to the building site.
The panel-manufacturing working table used in the conventional two-by-four construction method is very long and the length of each panel may reach several tens of meters. The space needed to accommodate this table is therefore very large.
Since the size and weight of each panel are considerable, several workers are employed to move a panel to the position at which the next operation will be performed. Also, several workers are needed to let down a completed panel from the working table or to set up pallets which have been stacked flat for storage and transportation. This involves a considerable amount of labor which slows down the work. There is also a problem of the potential danger connected with this work. These are significant factors leading to increased labor cost.